JP2011155436A - Digital broadcast receiver and program retrieval method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently retrieve a program by increasing program contents to be a retrieval object as needed while suppressing a memory using amount for preservation of program information when retrieving the program with the program information as the retrieval object. <P>SOLUTION: The digital broadcast receiver 1 includes: a program information decoder 4 for acquiring first program information of the first and second program information of a receivable channel; a flash memory 13 for storing the first program information; a remote controller R for inputting a retrieval condition according to an operation by a user; a control 12 for performing first program retrieval with the first program information as the retrieval object in the flash memory 13 on the basis of the retrieval condition; and a display 9 for displaying the result of the first program retrieval. After displaying the result of the first program retrieval, when the request of second program retrieval is received according to the operation by the user, the second program information of the receivable channel is acquired, the second program retrieval with the second program information as the retrieval object is performed on the basis of the retrieval condition, and the retrieval result is displayed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital broadcast receiving apparatus and a program search method, and more particularly to a digital broadcast receiving apparatus having a function of searching for a program using program information as a search target and a program search method using the apparatus.

  In digital terrestrial broadcasting, video and audio are transmitted by MPEG-2 TS (Transport Stream). In addition to this video and audio, program information is provided as a service to viewers. This program information is provided by repeatedly transmitting a table constituting PSI / SI (Program Specific Information / Service Information) together with a program according to a certain period.

  PSI is standardized by MPEG2 Systems (ISO / IEC13818-1, ITU-TH.222.0), and is information necessary for selecting a required program. The PSI is composed of tables such as a PAT (Program Association Table), a PMT (Program Map Table), a NIT (Network Information Table), and a CAT (Conditional Access Table). NIT is a table that describes a list of all services that can be selected by the receiver and which TS each service is included in. The PAT is a table in which the PID (Packet ID) of the TS packet that transmits the PMT is described. The PMT includes the PID of the TS packet that transmits each encoded stream (ES: Elementary Stream) constituting the program. It is a described table.

  On the other hand, SI is defined by ARIB STD-B10, and is various information defined for the convenience of program selection. This SI includes, for example, SDT (Service Description Table) describing a list of all services included in the TS, event information (for each program, accompanying information such as start time, program length, program name, performer, genre, etc. EIT (Event Information Table) that describes (including), BIT (Broadcaster Information Table) that describes all services collectively for each provider group (broadcaster), and SDTT that describes the download schedule for software update of the receiver (Software Download Trigger Table) and other tables.

  The electronic program guide in terrestrial digital broadcasting is created based on the program information notified by the EIT. Hereinafter, an EIT acquisition procedure by a general fixed receiver will be briefly described.

  First, the fixed receiver refers to the channel list, performs channel selection processing for the designated channel, receives the PAT of the selected channel, and obtains the PID (Packet ID) of the TS packet that transmits the PMT. To do. Next, the fixed receiver receives the PMT based on the acquired PID, acquires the PID of the TS packet that transmits each ES constituting the program, and configures the program based on the acquired PID. Start ES filtering.

  Next, the fixed receiver acquires all the H-EITs from the filtered ES data (for example, acquires one week's worth of H-EITs). Then, the fixed receiver receives the H-EIT data for all channels on the channel list, and creates an electronic program guide from all the received H-EIT data. H-EIT is intended for display on a fixed receiver.

  Here, a method is known in which program information provided by broadcast waves is used as a search target and a program search using a keyword is performed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to the program search method described in Patent Document 1, new keywords are automatically generated from program search results using program information as a search target, and these keywords are presented to the user together with check boxes. Then, the specification of a keyword that the user determines to be unnecessary is accepted, the search is performed again, and the program information including the specified keyword is deleted. Thereby, irrelevant program information can be excluded from the search result, and a necessary program can be searched from a huge amount of program information.

JP 2003-259243 A

  The program information described in the above EIT is stored in the flash memory in the receiver. However, not all program information is stored from the viewpoint of minimizing the usage of the flash memory. Only part of the program information is saved. Therefore, when a keyword search is performed using program information as a search target, a part of the program information stored in the receiver is a search target.

  Specifically, the program information described in the EIT includes a short format event descriptor 100 having a small data amount and an extended format event descriptor 101 having a large data amount, as shown in FIG. The short format event descriptor 100 includes, for example, program names and program descriptions as items, and the extended format event descriptor 101 includes, for example, various item names and item descriptions for each item name. This item name includes, for example, news, subtitle, program content, performer, original / screenplay, director / director, music, production, and the like.

  In the case of the short format event descriptor 100 of terrestrial digital broadcasting, the program name is defined as 40 full-width characters or less and 96 bytes or less, and the program description is defined as 80 full-width characters or less and 192 bytes or less. In the case of the extended format event descriptor 101 of terrestrial digital broadcasting, the item name is 8 characters or less and 16 bytes or less, and the item description is 220 bytes or less per descriptor. Descriptors can be placed, and the total length is defined as 200 characters or less.

  In the short format event descriptor 100 for BS digital broadcasting / broadband CS digital broadcasting, the program name is defined as 40 characters or less and 80 bytes or less, and the program description is defined as 80 characters or less and 160 bytes or less. In the case of the BS digital broadcast / wideband CS digital broadcast extended format event descriptor 101, the item name is 8 characters or less and 16 bytes or less, and the item description is 100 characters or less and 200 bytes or less per descriptor. It is defined that a maximum of two descriptors can be arranged for one item name.

  Also, the extended format event descriptor 101 can be arranged at a maximum of 16 per program, and assuming that 100 full-width characters per descriptor (maximum), the maximum number of characters that can be arranged is 100 characters × 16 = 1600 characters. It becomes.

  In the above, if both the short format event descriptor 100 and the extended format event descriptor 101 are stored in the flash memory in the receiver, the amount of memory used increases, so that the amount of data is relatively small as part of the program information. Only a small short format event descriptor 100 is stored. Thus, if the keyword search target is only the short format event descriptor 100 stored in the flash memory, the contents of the program to be searched are limited, and therefore, the programs hit by the search are limited. It becomes. On the other hand, if the extended format event descriptor 101 is also stored in the flash memory, the content of the program to be searched increases and the number of programs hit by the search increases, but the amount of use of the flash memory also increases. There is a problem that the manufacturing cost increases due to the addition of the above.

  In the case of the method described in Patent Document 1 described above, after a keyword search is performed once, the search is performed again under conditions excluding unnecessary keywords. However, the content of the program to be searched cannot be increased. That is, since the search is performed again for the same search target, no new program is hit other than the search result obtained first by the re-search. As described above, in the prior art including the method described in Patent Document 1, it is not possible to increase the contents of a program to be searched if necessary, so that an efficient program search with reduced memory usage is performed. I couldn't.

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances as described above, and when performing a program search with the program information as a search target, the memory usage for saving the program information is suppressed, and the search target is set as necessary. It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital broadcast receiving apparatus and a program searching method using the apparatus capable of efficiently searching for a program by increasing the contents of the program.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the first technical means of the present invention comprises: program information acquisition means for acquiring the first program information of first and second program information of receivable channels; and the acquisition A digital broadcast receiving apparatus comprising storage means for storing the first program information for each channel, the search condition input means for inputting a search condition in accordance with a user operation, and the search condition input means based on the input search condition A program search unit for performing a first program search using the first program information stored in the storage unit as a search target; and a display unit for displaying a result of the first program search. When the second program search request is received in accordance with the operation by the user after the search result is displayed, the program information acquisition means may receive the second program information of the receivable channel or the receivable channel. The first and second program information is acquired, and the program search means acquires the second program information or the first and second program information based on the search condition input by the search condition input means. A second program search as a search target is performed, and the display means displays a result of the second program search.

  When the second technical means receives the request for the second program search after displaying the result of the first program search in the first technical means, the display means receives the second program search. A search confirmation screen for confirming whether or not to start is displayed.

  The third technical means is the second technical means, wherein after receiving the second program search request, the program information acquisition means receives the second program information of the receivable channel or the receivable channel. Estimated time calculating means for calculating estimated time required to acquire the first and second program information of the first and second program information, and the display means displays the estimated time calculated by the estimated time calculating means on the search confirmation screen. It is characterized by doing.

  The fourth technical means is any one of the first to third technical means, wherein the display means is the second program information of the channel receivable by the program information acquisition means or the receivable channel. While acquiring the 1st and 2nd program information, the message for notifying that is displayed.

  A fifth technical means is any one of the first to fourth technical means, wherein the display means is a result of the second program search on a screen displaying the result of the second program search. This is characterized by displaying an icon indicating the above.

  Sixth technical means is any one of the first to fifth technical means, wherein the display means is searched by the first program search when displaying the result of the second program search. The display form of the program is different from the display form of the program newly searched by the second program search, and is displayed.

  A seventh technical means is any one of the first to sixth technical means, wherein the first program information is a short format event descriptor included in an EIT, and the second program information is an EIT Is an extended event descriptor included in.

  The eighth technical means includes program information acquisition means for acquiring the first program information among the first and second program information of receivable channels, and stores the acquired first program information for each channel. A program search method by a digital broadcast receiving device comprising a storage means for performing a search condition input step for inputting a search condition according to an operation by a user, and a second program stored in the storage means based on the input search condition. A first program search step for performing a first program search using one program information as a search target; a first display step for displaying a result of the first program search; and a result of the first program search When the second program search request is received in accordance with the operation by the user after the display is displayed, the second program information of the receivable channel or the first and second programs of the receivable channel A program information acquisition step for acquiring information, and a second program for searching the second program information or the first and second program information based on the search condition input in the search condition input step A second program search step for performing a search and a second display step for displaying a result of the second program search are provided.

  According to the present invention, when a program search is performed using program information as a search target, a part of the program contents is searched for in the normal search, and the memory usage for storing the program information is reduced, and the program can be easily and quickly performed. The program search can be performed efficiently while increasing the contents of the program to be searched as necessary and performing a detailed program search.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the digital broadcast receiver which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating an example of the program search method by the digital broadcast receiver of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen of the simple search result displayed by step S3 of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a detailed search guidance screen. It is a figure which shows an example of a detailed search screen. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen of the detailed search result displayed by step S10 of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen at the time of moving a cursor to a search result in a detailed search result screen. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the program information contained in EIT.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a digital broadcast receiving apparatus and a program search method using the apparatus will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 indicates the digital broadcast receiving apparatus. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus 1 includes a front end 2, a demultiplexer 3, a program information decoding unit 4, an electronic program guide data generating unit 5, a video / audio decoding unit 6, a screen synthesis unit 7, an audio output unit 8, and a display unit 9. , Interface unit 10, remote control light receiving unit 11, control unit 12, flash memory 13, RAM 14, and ROM 15.

  The front end 2 includes a tuner, a demodulation circuit, and an error correction unit, selects one reception channel from the digital broadcast signal received by the antenna, demodulates the signal of the selected reception channel, and TS (Transport Stream) This TS signal is error corrected. The demultiplexer 3 separates the TS signal output from the front end 2 into video data, audio data, and program information (PSI / SI), and sends the video data and audio data to the video / audio decoding unit 6 as program information ( PSI / SI) is output to the program information decoding unit 4, respectively.

  The program information decoding unit 4 decodes the PSI / SI separated and output by the demultiplexer 3, acquires a short format event descriptor from the EIT (program information) included in the PSI / SI, and this short format event description. The child is stored in the flash memory 13. The electronic program guide data generation unit 5 generates electronic program guide data based on the short format event descriptor stored in the flash memory 13.

  The video / audio decoding unit 6 decodes the video data separated and output by the demultiplexer 3 into a video signal capable of video display, and outputs the decoded video signal to the screen synthesis unit 7. The screen synthesis unit 7 synthesizes the video signal decoded by the video / audio decoding unit 6 and an OSD (On Screen Display) signal (not shown), and outputs the synthesized signal to the display unit 9. The display unit 9 is a display such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display).

  The video / audio decoding unit 6 decodes the audio data separated and output by the demultiplexer 3 into an audio signal that can be output as audio, and outputs the decoded audio signal to an audio output unit 8 such as a speaker.

  The interface unit 10 is an interface for connecting to an external device such as a recorder, and is connected to the external device via an HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) cable, for example.

  The remote control light receiving unit 11 receives an operation signal transmitted from the remote control R and transfers the operation signal to the control unit 12. The control unit 12 is configured by a CPU, a memory, and the like for controlling the operation of the digital broadcast receiving device 1, and each unit so that the digital broadcast receiving device 1 operates based on an operation signal transferred from the remote control light receiving unit 11. To control.

  The flash memory 13 is a memory for storing a short format event descriptor acquired from the EIT. The RAM 14 is a volatile memory for expanding the extended format event descriptor acquired from the EIT. The ROM 15 is a non-volatile memory that stores various control programs and data for controlling the operation of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 1.

  The main feature of the present invention is that when performing program search using program information as a search target, the amount of program content to be searched is increased as necessary while reducing the memory usage for storing program information, and the efficiency is increased. The purpose is to perform program search. As a configuration for this, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 1 includes a program information acquisition unit that acquires first program information out of first and second program information of receivable channels, and the acquired first program information. Storage means for storing each channel. In the example of FIG. 1, the program information acquisition unit includes a front end 2, a demultiplexer 3, and a program information decoding unit 4, and the storage unit corresponds to the flash memory 13.

  Further, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 1 stores in the flash memory 13 based on a remote controller R corresponding to a search condition input means for inputting one or more keywords as a search condition according to an operation by the user, and a keyword input by the remote controller R. A control unit 12 corresponding to program search means for performing a first program search using the first program information as a search target, and a display unit 9 corresponding to display means for displaying a result of the first program search. Prepare.

  When the second program search request is received in accordance with the operation by the user after displaying the first program search result, program information acquisition means (front end 2, demultiplexer 3, and program information decoding unit 4) Acquires the second program information of the receivable channel or the first and second program information of the receivable channel, and the control unit 12 controls the second program based on the search condition input by the remote controller R. A second program search is performed with the information or the first and second program information as a search target, and the display unit 9 displays the result of the second program search.

  In the following description, the first program search is referred to as a simple search, and the second program search is referred to as a detailed search. The first program information to be searched for the simple search corresponds to the short format event descriptor included in the EIT, as shown in FIG. 8, and the second program to be searched for the detailed search. The information corresponds to an extended format event descriptor included in the EIT. In the case of a simple search, the short format event descriptor stored in the flash memory 13 is set as a search target. In the case of a detailed search, only a newly acquired extended format event descriptor is set as a search target. The newly acquired short format event descriptor and extended format event descriptor can be searched.

  Here, the short format event descriptor stored in the flash memory 13 can be periodically updated based on the EIT sent from the broadcasting station. However, in the case of digital terrestrial broadcasting, the digital broadcast receiving device 1 Therefore, while viewing a program of a certain channel, only the EIT of the channel being viewed can be acquired. For this reason, the short format event descriptors of all the channels stored in the flash memory 13 are not always the latest. Therefore, at the time of the detailed search, the short format event descriptor is acquired together with the extended format event descriptor, and the short format event descriptor stored in the flash memory 13 is updated with the acquired short format event descriptor. Good. As a result, the short format event descriptor stored in the flash memory 13 can always be kept up-to-date, so that a more accurate program search can be performed.

  In the case of BS digital broadcasting and CS digital broadcasting, even when a digital broadcast receiving apparatus 1 is viewing a program on a certain channel, EITs on other channels are simultaneously transmitted. For this reason, if any channel is received, EITs of all channels can be acquired.

  In the above, the program information acquisition means may start acquisition of the extended format event descriptor, or the short format event descriptor and the extended format event descriptor when the result of the simple search is displayed. When a request for a detailed search is received in accordance with a user operation (for example, when “Yes” is selected in FIG. 4 described later), an extended format event descriptor or a short format event descriptor is used for the detailed search. And the extended format event descriptor is continuously acquired as it is. On the other hand, when the detailed search is not performed (for example, when “NO” is selected in FIG. 4 described later), it is determined that there is no request for the detailed search, and only the extended format event descriptor acquired so far is Alternatively, the short format event descriptor and the extended format event descriptor are deleted.

  The extended format event descriptor acquired by the program information acquisition means is once expanded in the RAM 14. For example, when the extended format event descriptor of terrestrial digital broadcasting is expanded in the RAM 14 and the network is switched to BS digital broadcasting, the extended format event descriptor of terrestrial digital broadcasting expanded in the RAM 14 is deleted. May be. Alternatively, the extended event descriptor of the terrestrial digital broadcast may be stored in the RAM 14 until the detailed search is executed after switching to the BS digital broadcast. As a result, even if switching to BS digital broadcasting, the extended format event descriptor of terrestrial digital broadcasting is stored in the RAM 14 until detailed searching is executed in BS digital broadcasting, so detailed searching in terrestrial digital broadcasting is performed at high speed. Can be.

  In addition, since the program information including the extended format event descriptor is acquired for each channel, the extended format event descriptor is expanded in the RAM 14 in order from the acquired channel, and detailed search is performed in order for each channel. Also good. If the extended format event descriptor is deleted from the RAM 14 in order from the channel for which the detailed search has been completed, the use area of the RAM 14 can be reduced and the memory usage can be suppressed. At this time, the search result by the detailed search may be stored in the RAM 14 or the flash memory 13.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a program search method by the digital broadcast receiving apparatus of the present invention. First, the user operates the remote controller R to display a program search screen (not shown) on the digital broadcast receiver 1, and sets a keyword and a search target time zone as search conditions. For example, a keyword “Japan” and a search target time zone “Today” are set (step S1). When the user operates the remote controller R to request a simple search (step S2), a simple program that uses the short event descriptor as a search target based on the search condition set in step S1. A search is performed and a simple search result screen as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed (step S3).

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a simple search result screen displayed in step S3 of FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 20 denotes a simple search result screen. The simple search result screen 20 is an icon 21 indicating that the search type is simple search, a search target time zone 22 set by the user, and a user set. It includes a keyword 23, a search result 24 based on the search target time zone 22 and the keyword 23, and a character string display field 25 for explaining what program search has been performed.

  In the example of FIG. 3, “today” is set as the search target time zone 22, and a plurality of keywords “Osaka”, “Kyoto”, “Japan”, and “USA” are set as the keyword 23, and “Japan” is set. Indicates that the cursor is hit and selected as a keyword. As this keyword, two or more keywords may be selected. Further, by moving the cursor to the “keyword setting” icon and selecting it, a keyword setting screen (not shown) can be displayed, and keywords can be additionally set. Based on the selected keyword 23 (here, “Japan” is selected), a character string “Search for programs including Japan” is displayed in the character string display field 25, and the user “Japan” is displayed. It can be confirmed that a simple search has been performed based on the keyword.

  In the search result 24, programs having the keyword “Japan” in the program title or the short event descriptor are displayed. In addition, the programs displayed in the search result 24 may be displayed in a state of being sorted in ascending order of the start time, or may be arranged in descending order of the number of keyword hits. In addition, a program in which the number of keyword hits is equal to or greater than a predetermined value may be changed in color, or may be marked with a mark.

  Next, in FIG. 2, when the user performs the next operation such as program reservation based on the search result of the simple search result screen 20 shown in FIG. 3, or when the user does not shift to the next operation only by viewing the simple search result For example (in the case of YES at step S4), the series of program search processing is terminated. On the other hand, when the user confirms the search result on the simple search result screen 20 shown in FIG. 3 and determines that a more detailed search is desired (NO in step S4), the user operates the remote control R to perform the detailed search. A request is made (step S5). Then, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 1 that has received this detailed search request displays a detailed search guidance screen 26 corresponding to a search confirmation screen for confirming whether or not to start a detailed search, as shown in FIG. (Step S6).

  Here, after receiving the request for detailed search, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 1 receives the extended format event descriptor of the channel that can be received by the program information acquisition means, or the short format event descriptor and the extended format event description of the receivable channel. You may make it provide the estimated time calculation means which calculates the estimated time required until it acquires a child. This estimated time calculation means is realized by the control unit 12. Then, the display unit 9 may display the estimated time calculated by the control unit 12 on the detailed search guidance screen 26 of FIG. In the example of FIG. 4, a message “It takes about xx minutes to acquire information” is displayed. The information here is an extended format event descriptor, or a short format event descriptor and an extended format event descriptor. The time required to acquire this information is estimated from the search target time zone and the EIT retransmission cycle. be able to.

  The time taken to acquire EIT can be estimated to be twice as long as the retransmission period. For example, when a broadcasting station transmits EIT with the maximum retransmission period (360 seconds = 6 minutes) for one channel of BS digital broadcasting, the time taken to acquire EIT is 6 minutes to 12 minutes (one period or more, Less than 2 cycles). Here, since it is necessary to acquire the EIT from the beginning, the time required for acquiring the EIT is one cycle or more and less than two cycles. It is sufficient to look at two cycles at the maximum. Similarly, when a broadcasting station transmits EIT with the maximum retransmission period (180 seconds = 3 minutes) for one channel of terrestrial digital broadcasting, the time taken to acquire EIT is 3 to 6 minutes. When a broadcasting station transmits EIT with the shortest retransmission cycle (60 seconds = 1 minute), the time required for EIT acquisition for both BS digital broadcasting and terrestrial digital broadcasting is 1 minute to 2 minutes (one cycle). Above, less than 2 cycles). Here, the retransmission cycle is determined according to the specifications for each network (terrestrial digital broadcast, BS digital broadcast), and this retransmission cycle may be stored in advance in the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 1 for each network.

  Also, for all BS digital broadcast channels, if the broadcast station transmits EIT with the maximum retransmission cycle and the EIT acquisition time per channel is 12 minutes (= 720 seconds), the maximum is 720 seconds × 12 channels = 8640. It can be estimated that second = 144 minutes. Similarly, for all terrestrial digital broadcast channels (Tokyo area), if the broadcast station transmits EIT with the maximum retransmission period and the EIT acquisition time per channel is 6 minutes (= 360 seconds), the maximum 360 seconds. X8 channels = 2880 seconds = 48 minutes. Also, when the broadcast station transmits EIT with the shortest retransmission cycle and the EIT acquisition time per channel is 2 minutes (= 120 seconds), in BS digital broadcasting, the shortest 120 seconds × 12 channels = 1440 seconds = 24 Minutes, and for terrestrial digital broadcasting, the minimum is 120 seconds × 8 channels = 960 seconds = 16 minutes.

  In addition, when the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 1 is equipped with a plurality of tuners, a plurality of streams can be received at the same time. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the time required for obtaining the EIT.

  Next, when performing a detailed search in step S7 of FIG. 2 (in the case of YES in step S7), the user operates the remote control R on the detailed search guidance screen 26 shown in FIG. Select “Yes”. In this case, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 1 acquires the extended format event descriptor of the receivable channel or the short format event descriptor and the extended format event descriptor of the receivable channel, and acquires these event descriptors. During this time, the detailed search in-progress screen 27 (FIG. 5) including a message for notifying that effect is displayed (step S8). When the detailed search is not performed (NO in step S7), the user operates the remote control R on the detailed search guidance screen 26 and selects “NO” on the screen. In this case, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 1 does not newly acquire an event descriptor, returns to step S3, and displays the simple search result screen 20 of FIG.

  Next, when it is desired to cancel the detailed search in step S9 (in the case of YES in step S9), the user operates the remote controller R on the detailed search screen 27 shown in FIG. Press “Cancel”. In this case, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 1 interrupts the acquisition of the extended format event descriptor or the short format event descriptor and the extended format event descriptor, returns to step S3, and displays the simple search result screen 20 of FIG. . When the detailed search is not canceled (NO in step S9), the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 1 acquires the extended format event descriptor or the short format event descriptor and the extended format event descriptor as they are.

  In the above, for example, when a short format event descriptor and an extended format event descriptor are newly acquired, the short format event descriptor of the flash memory 13 is updated with the acquired short format event descriptor, and the acquired extension The format event descriptor is expanded in the RAM 14. Then, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 1 performs a detailed search for the extended format event descriptor in the RAM 14 and the short format event descriptor in the flash memory 13 as a search target, and displays the detailed search result screen as shown in FIG. Display (step S10).

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a detailed search result screen displayed in step S10 of FIG. In the figure, 30 is a detailed search result screen. The detailed search result screen 30 is an icon 31 indicating that the search type is a detailed search, a search target time zone 32 set by the user, and a user set. It includes a keyword 33, a search result 34 based on the search target time zone 32 and the keyword 33, and a character string display field 35 for explaining what program search has been performed. In this example, as in the simple search, the search is performed with the keyword “Japan”.

  In FIG. 6, the search result 34 displays programs having the keyword “Japan” in the short format event descriptor and the extended format event descriptor. By displaying an icon 31 indicating that the result of the detailed search is displayed on the detailed search result screen 30, the user can see at a glance that the result is the result of the detailed search, and the simple search result screen 20 shown in FIG. Can be distinguished. Further, when displaying the result of the detailed search, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus 1 displays the display form of the program searched by the simple search different from the display form of the program newly searched by the detailed search. You may do it. In the example of FIG. 6, a program newly searched by the detailed search is given a mark “NEW”, and the user can easily identify which program has been added by the detailed search.

  In addition, the display form is not limited to the application of a mark. For example, various methods such as changing the color, making it bold, making italic, changing the font, and underlining are considered. It is only necessary that the searched program can be distinguished from the searched program by the simple search, and the display form is not particularly limited.

  As described above, when performing a program search using the program information as a search target, the normal search uses the short format event descriptor stored in the memory as a search target to reduce the amount of memory used for storing the program information. Perform simple program searches in time and acquire extended format event descriptors as needed, increasing the contents of programs to be searched and performing detailed program searches, thus reducing memory usage However, the program search can be performed efficiently.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the screen when the cursor is moved to the search result on the detailed search result screen. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 40 denotes the detailed search result screen. The program displayed on the detailed search result screen 40 is the same as the program displayed on the detailed search result screen 30 of FIG. 6, and is searched and displayed based on the flow shown in FIG.

  While the detailed search result screen 40 is displayed, the user operates the remote controller R to move the cursor to the search result 41 and move the cursor to a desired program. Here, the program 42 is shown in a state where the cursor is hit and selected. For the selected program, the characters around the hit keyword are displayed in the character string display field 43. Since “Japan” is a keyword here, a character string around “Japan” as a keyword is extracted and displayed from a character string included in the short format event descriptor or the extended format event descriptor.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Digital broadcast receiver, 2 ... Front end, 3 ... Demultiplexer, 4 ... Program information decoding part, 5 ... Electronic program guide data generation part, 6 ... Video | audio / audio decoding part, 7 ... Screen composition part, 8 ... Audio | voice Output unit, 9 ... display unit, 10 ... interface unit, 11 ... remote control light receiving unit, 12 ... control unit, 13 ... flash memory, 14 ... RAM, 15 ... ROM, 20 ... simple search result screen, 21, 31 ... icon, 22, 32 ... Search target time zone, 23, 33 ... Keyword, 24, 34, 41 ... Search result, 25, 35, 43 ... Character string display column, 26 ... Detailed search guidance screen, 27 ... Detailed search in progress screen, 30 , 40 ... Detailed search result screen, 42 ... Program, 100 ... Short format event descriptor, 101 ... Extended format event descriptor.

Claims (8)

Of the first and second program information of receivable channels, there is provided program information acquisition means for acquiring the first program information, and storage means for storing the acquired first program information for each channel. A digital broadcast receiver,
Search condition input means for inputting a search condition in accordance with an operation by a user, and program search means for performing a first program search using the first program information stored in the storage means as a search target based on the input search condition And display means for displaying the result of the first program search,
After displaying the result of the first program search, when receiving a request for a second program search according to an operation by the user, the program information acquisition means may receive the second program information of the receivable channel or the reception Obtain first and second program information of possible channels,
The program search means performs a second program search using the second program information or the first and second program information as search targets based on the search condition input by the search condition input means,
The digital broadcast receiving apparatus, wherein the display means displays a result of the second program search.   2. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the second program search request is received after displaying the result of the first program search, the display means starts the second program search. A digital broadcast receiving apparatus, characterized by displaying a search confirmation screen for confirming whether or not to do so.   3. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 2, wherein after receiving a request for searching for the second program, the program information acquisition unit receives second program information of the receivable channel or the first of the receivable channels. An estimated time calculating means for calculating an estimated time required for acquiring the first and second program information, and the display means displays the estimated time calculated by the estimated time calculating means on the search confirmation screen. A digital broadcast receiver characterized by the above.   4. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit is configured to receive the second program information of the channel that the program information acquisition unit can receive or the first of the channel that can be received. And while acquiring the 2nd program information, the message for notifying that is displayed, The digital broadcast receiver characterized by the above-mentioned.   5. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays a result of the second program search on a screen that displays the result of the second program search. A digital broadcast receiver characterized in that an icon is displayed.   The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the display means displays a program searched by the first program search when displaying the result of the second program search. A digital broadcast receiving apparatus, wherein a display form and a display form of a program newly searched by the second program search are displayed differently.   The digital broadcast receiver according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first program information is a short format event descriptor included in an EIT, and the second program information is included in an EIT. A digital broadcast receiver characterized by being an extended format event descriptor. Of the first and second program information of receivable channels, there is provided program information acquisition means for acquiring the first program information, and storage means for storing the acquired first program information for each channel. A program search method by a digital broadcast receiving apparatus,
A search condition input step for inputting a search condition in accordance with an operation by the user, and a first program search for searching for the first program information stored in the storage means based on the input search condition A program search step, a first display step for displaying a result of the first program search, and a result of the first program search are displayed, and then a request for a second program search is accepted according to an operation by the user In the case, the program information acquisition step of acquiring the second program information of the receivable channel or the first and second program information of the receivable channel, and the search condition input in the search condition input step A second program search step for performing a second program search based on the second program information or the first and second program information, and a result of the second program search. Program search method characterized by comprising a second display step Shimesuru.

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